Thomas B Collins
by The 1000th Kiss
Summary: A story about Collins' childhood up until his first years in New York. R&R please!


**I feel I should right this because I just do. So there! :P**

**I own nothing. The Almighty Larson owns it all.**

"Hi, baby," Virginia Collins said to her one month old baby boy, Tom. She chose to ride in the backseat of the car with him while her husband, Marvin, drove.

"You _do _know we can't let Stack around him until he gets bigger, right?" Marvin asked.

"He can't help that he's not as big as his brothers. He was only born a month ago." The very young Tom Collins had been born three months before his time. Doctors decided to keep him for at least a month to make sure he was behaving normally. He was doing so, except for the fact that he barely cried.

"He's a tiny thing," Marvin observed through the rearview mirror.

"What do you expect?" Virginia asked. "He's three months premature."

"I _still _say they should've kept him longer than they did."

"He can't be cooped up in a hospital forever. He needs to see the world and the rest of his family." At that moment, Marvin pulled into their garage next to their van. "You ready to see your new home?" Tom giggled in response. "Yeah. You're ready." Marvin helped his wife out of the car and then took Tom out of his car seat. He immediately started crying.

"Good God," Marvin said. "What'd I do?" Virginia took Tom from Marvin and he stopped crying.

"You weren't holding him right," she replied, wiping tears from Tom's face.

"He has a specific way he likes to be held?"

"Yeah." Marvin rolled his eyes and shut the car door. "Now, we're gonna go introduce you to your brothers and sister." Virginia, who was holding Tom, and Marvin walked over to the porch, went up the stairs, opened the door, and went inside.

"We're home," Marvin called. Their daughter, Jasmine, suddenly ran to them.

"Yay!" she exclaimed. "You're back! Can I see the baby?"

"Go get your brothers and bring 'em in the livingroom," Virginia told her. She nodded and ran off as her parents went into the livingroom, where her grandmother, Rose, was sitting on the couch.

"Well, ain't he precious?" she said, smiling. Virginia gave Tom to her mother and sat down next to her. "He's got your eyes. He's got Marvin's everything else, but his eyes look _exactly _like yours."

"I think he's a spitting image of Virginia," Marvin said.

"You thought wrong. He's the spitting image of _you_."

"Okay, that's enough," Virginia said. The rest of the Collins children then entered the living room. Jesse, the now second youngest (two-years old), came in first, Martin and Reed, the twins (five-years old), came in second, Lamont, also known as Stack because of his height (eight-years old), came in third, and Jasmine, the oldest child and the only girl (ten-years old), came in fourth.

"Can I hold him, Mamma?" Jasmine asked.

"Sure you can," Virginia said, taking Tom from her mother. "Come sit by me and I'll show you how." Jasmine did as her mother said and her youngest brother was placed in her arms. "There you go." The rest of the children crowded around Jasmine and their new brother.

"Why's he so tiny?" Lamont asked. "I thought babies were bigger than that."

"He was born before he supposed to be," Marvin explained. Jesse was jumping up and down behind his siblings. "What're you doin', boy?"

"I can't see him," Jesse whined. Virginia picked him up and sat him on her lap. "Wow. He _is _tiny. What's his name?"

"Tom," Virginia answered. "Thomas Brian Collins."

"So I ain't the youngest no more?" Virginia laughed.

"No, baby," she said. "Tom's the youngest now." She watched Tom as he grabbed Jasmine's index finger.

"Look, Mamma," she said. "He likes me."

"I wonder what's it's gonna be like when he can walk and talk," Martin said.

"Same here," Reed agreed.

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Five Years Later

"Mamma, have you seen my calculator?" the now fifteen-year old Jasmine asked Virginia as she came out of her bedroom and into the hallway. It was the first day back to school for the Collins children, except for Tom, who was ready and waiting on the livingroom couch (playing with his sister's calculator) for his _very first _day of kindergarten to begin. Everyone else was running around the house looking for last minute things to start their day.

"I'm actually lookin' for your brother right now, sweetheart," Virginia replied, heading for the stairs. "But I'll help you find it if you help me find Tom." Jasmine followed her mother down the stairs, down the hall, and into the kitchen, where Lamont, now thirteen, was eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hey, Mamma," he said, his mouth full of cereal.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Stack," Virginia told him. "Have you seen your brother?"

"Which one?"

"The youngest one."

"Nope. Ain't he in his room?"

"Obviously not anymore, stupid," Jasmine said.

"I ain't stupid, _you _are," Lamont replied.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Cut that out," Virginia scolded them as Marvin came into the kitchen holding Tom, who was still playing with Jasmine's calculator. "My baby! Where'd you find him?"

"He was in the livingroom, watchin' the news and pushing buttons on Jasmine's calculator." Virginia took the five year old away from Marvin.

"Look, Mamma," Tom said. "Eight plus eight is sixteen! This little thing is smart!"

"Just like you," Virginia replied, kissing Tom's forehead and giving the calculator to Jasmine.

"Lil' runt's always takin' peoples stuff," Lamont said.

"Don't call your brother a runt, Lamont," Marvin told his oldest son. "Now, go get your things for school." Lamont sighed and left the kitchen just as Martin and Reed entered it.

"Mornin'," they both said as Virginia put Tom down.

"Mornin' boys," Virginia replied. "Ya'll ready for school?"

"Yes ma'am," they both answered. Lamont then returned to the kitchen with his backpack.

"I'm ready," he said.

"Me too," Jasmine added.

"Great," Marvin said, counting his children. "Where's Jesse?" None of the kids answered him. He left the kitchen, went up to Jesse's room, and opened the door. He immediately saw his son, in his bed with the blankets pulled up to his neck. "Boy, why're you still in bed?"

"I don't feel good, Dad," the eight year old said. Marvin walked over to him and placed his hand on his forehead. He was burning up.

"I'll be right back," Marvin said. He went back downstairs to see his wife and children filing into the hallway.

"Where's Jesse?" Virginia asked him.

"If I don't get to miss the first day of school, he doesn't," Lamont added.

"He's sick," Marvin said, ignoring Lamont. "He's undoubtedly got a fever. His forehead is hot as hell."

"Well, I'll take the kids to school and come back," Virginia replied. She gave her husband a small kiss before leading her children outside and into the van. After dropping Jasmine off at the high school and Lamont at the middle school, Virginia drove to the elementary school.

Once there, Martin and Reed got out of the van and went into the building. They'd been to school before so they knew what to do, but Tom remained in the van and stared out the window. After Virginia got out of the van, then and only then, did he do the same. He stood beside her and looked at all the children his age.

"Mamma?" he said, looking up at Virginia. "Can I go home with you?"

"No, baby," Virginia told him. "You have to go to school."

"But I don't wanna. I don't know nobody here."

"You can make some friends, sweetheart."

"Will you come with me?"

"I'll come in for a little while, but after that I have to go back home and take care of your brother." Tom nodded, took his mother's hand, and walked slowly with her into the school.

**First chapter done! :) **

**Review please.**


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